


Cooldown

by Hiver_Frost_Elf



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Allen Whump, Domestic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 17:12:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15053945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiver_Frost_Elf/pseuds/Hiver_Frost_Elf
Summary: “ALLEN!!! My office! Now!”





	Cooldown

**Author's Note:**

> You know how when someone becomes infamous for something, folks assume they're doing it even when they're not? That's what happened with Barry. Captain Singh yelled at him for arriving on time because he assumed he'd clocked in late again, but he apologized once he realized his mistake. It was still a crummy way to start the day though.

It was time to clock out, but Eddie couldn’t find Barry anywhere.  The best place to start looking was the lab.

Eddie frowned.  Files and folders littered the floor, some stained and sticky with coffee.  He picked them up and placed them on Barry’s desk as neatly as he could before heading down to storage.

“Barry?” He flicked on the lights. “Barry!”

Barry was scrunched up in a corner.  He looked up at him with waterlogged eyes and puffy cheeks for a split second before hiding his face in his knees again.

Eddie sat down and held him.  It was busy, so he hadn’t gotten a chance to check on him all day; they didn’t even get to grab lunch together.  But after hearing everything that went down on Barry, Eddie wished he’d made time.  So many things had swarmed him today.

  1. An officer contaminating evidence the same way he’d been repeatedly told to stop doing
  2. The force hounding Barry to finish his analyses faster
  3. Barry himself contaminating evidence while speeding through those hotly requested analyses
  4. Spilled coffee ruining a set of files
  5. People bustling in and out of the lab like it was a breakroom, chattering and shuffling while Barry was trying to concentrate
  6. Phantom sounds of the Man in Yellow ghosting in when the thunderstorm began
  7. Rain washing evidence away and soaking Barry



No wonder he was so cold and damp.  Nobody had given him a chance to dry off, just a downpour of demands all day.

“And, and, and the worst part—the worst part...” Barry cried in Eddie’s neck. “Captain Singh yelled at me!  I was on time today and he yelled at me!!!”

Eddie held Barry and rubbed his back while he stifled his cries in the crook of Eddie’s neck.  Barry didn’t want anyone walking in on them and thinking he was weak.

“You’re not weak, Barry, you’re really, really strong,” said Eddie as he wrapped his coat around him. “You’ve been so strong today.”

They snuck out the back.  It was still raining, so they used Eddie’s coat as an umbrella.  Barry shivered in the passanger seat.  Eddie flipped on the heat ASAP.  The car defrosted Barry enough for him to doze off.  Eddie didn’t want to wake him up.

“Almost there, Barry,” Eddie smooched his cheek, bracing him with an arm at his back as they rode the elevator up to the floor with their apartment.

Barry sniffled and leaned on Eddie.  His silence was heartbreaking when chipper chatter was his norm.

“Why don’t you go take a nap before dinner?” Eddie suggested as he dialed their favorite takeout joint.

Warm pajamas massaged Barry’s still cool skin.  He trudged back to the living room with a blanket and curled up on the couch, pillowed in Eddie’s lap, feeling better and safer already.

Eddie petted him and put on one of Barry’s beloved musicals.  Eddie thought they were corny, but Barry snuggling up to him and smiling was worth it.  A happier Barry would sing along, and wow, was his voice gorgeous!  This time though, Barry let the music lull him to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for taking time to read this; enjoy what you do here and everywhere!


End file.
